The Atheist Experience

   You've heard of Captain Obvious. There's one in commercials for Hotels.com now. You, @graham , are Captain Oblivious. You are oblivious of the pros and cons of argumentum ad populum. So I'll tell you. Sometimes the majority is wrong, especially on issues not for government. Whether right or wrong they have power that comes from their large numbers. It can be necessary then should they stray from truth to bring them back to the truth. Bringing them back to the truth is my job. My success is gradual.

   At one time there were websites that described the burden of proof as being on "the person making the claim" or "positive" claim. Not so much are there now. There are still websites that attempt, hopeless as it is in this modern age, to assign people to gnostic or agnostic categories. You have admitted you have no criteria whatsoever for doing that, yet still pretend it makes any sense.

   You are oblivious of the difference between facts and opinions. You believe, or at least claim to believe, that your opinions have the force of facts and that others have to prove you wrong. Even after you have been proved wrong you refuse to acknowledge it. You think you're entitled to your own facts. You never learned the lesson that you're entitled to your own opinions, but are not really entitled to your own facts.

   You appear to believe that you can "think" there is no god, say so in debates, and still pretend that you lack "belief" there is no god, even as you become more vociferous in those debates. The only way that is possible is for you to delude yourself that unless you yourself approve testimony it may not even be considered.

   You imagine that all that is supported by science and logic. It is not. You have demonstrated time and again that you are not capable of science or logic. You are not a teacher (not here anyway). You are not showing reason for you beliefs. You are a soldier defending beliefs you don't even realize are beliefs. They are ideas that are certainly not your own work. They are ideas that took authority through their large numbers and had become somewhat entrenched. As a soldier you continue to defend them.   They are only now being compelled to address logic, however much you claim you do not have to demonstrate any logic.

Teachers and Soldiers